A lot of people out there are wondering if their 3rd gen 15" steel spare will clear 4th gen 12" LT1 or LS1 rear brakes. This afternoon I tested both of them on a 12" LT1/1LE PBR brake equipped 4th gen rear I have outside. Well here's your answer:

Yes and no.

There are 2 types of 3rd gen 15" steel spares that I know of. There's a thin one and a thicker one. The thinner one will use a T125/70-D15 tire and looks to be installed on a 3-4" wide wheel. This one will NOT fit.

The other spare wheel uses a P195/75-D15 tire on what looks to be a 5" wide wheel which is also deeper. This one WILL fit, and is also the one my 1991 RS came with from GM. I also have the 16" alloy wheels on the car. The difference in the two wheels is very obvious, and the P195 tire has a much wider tread width than the other one. It was too dark to take a pic of them but I will tomorrow and post it up here.


Ed

 

GM also had the inflatabble space saver spare for car equiped with a limited slip and 16' wheels. Not the small dounut type, almost the same as 1LE aluminum spare.

 

That's the "N64" RPO code. I have one sitting in my garage that I'll try to mount on my LS1 rear brakes tomorrow. I doubt its going to fit, but I'll give it a shot if I remember.

 

I also have a N64 spare in my Iroc and I'll fit that up today and take pics of all of them since it's sunny out.

Ed

 

Maybe I'll let you do it then since its 11* outside here right now (which is the warmest in the last 2-3 days)

 

Be glad to...however I dicked around with a new TV today and didn't get to take the pics. I will ASAP.

Ed

 

Ok, spare pics. Here's the 3 different spares I have. The one on the left, the taller one, is the one that won't fit...the T125/70-D15 tire. The one in the middle is the one that will fit, the P195/75-D15 tire on a wider wheel. The far right spare is my factory-new never installed N64 spare, the aluminum one everyone refers to as the "1LE" spare. This spare WILL NOT FIT over the 12" rear brakes. Funny thing is that this spare is on a 14" rim! Tire size is P195/75-14.

Ed

 

Side view of the spares:

 

Here's where the N64 spare rubs the caliper. IF you have a 3rd gen rear and run spacers for 4th gen wheels on it, all spares will fit:

 

This was my test rear, a 4th gen 3.23 disc:

 

The funny thing is that "1LE" aluminum spare WILL clear the big 1LE Fr brake on 3rd gens,but not the Rr brakes.Youd think because of the dual piston larger caliper up front the opposite would be the case.

 

There has been alot of information and discussion and it was determined that the aluminum spoked spare is not the 1LE spare of yore. It wont clear stock PBR rear brakes because of the 14" dia.

 

so how big is the 1le spare?will it fit?

 

The spare on the left is the one that came on 89-up 1LE cars. It is aluminum, painted black and will clear the 12" 1LE rotor. The inflatable one, and the aluminum spoke will not.

Mark.

 

good to know. I guess if i ever get a flat, i'll have to change the flat (if it's a rear) with a front and put my spare on the front. or call a f***ing tow truck. (runing a 3.42 4th gen rear)

 

The correct one will have next to the valve step a stamp "XUB". It's a 15X5 rim. The air canister is on the back side. And that grease pen marking on the back side is correct as well.

Mark.

 

ED this one is for you, ok guys, i have a question for everyone here........im going to be putting on the ls1 rear brakes with the c5 zo6 calipers........i have the n65 spare tire(195/something/15). wil it fit on the back? or should i just stuff it away in the garage and put all my amps and stuff in there? im already sqrewed for the front with the c5 zo6 brakes up front. thanks guys

 

my car is a 89 Irocz with 16x8 alloy wheels..i have the 11.65inch PBR brakes on my 9 bolt. the stock spare that came with the car i assume is the 195tire size, i'll have to check tonight

i mounted it to my ls1 rear to see and it appears to fit fine but with minor clearance issues...you may want to grind down a piece of the caliper. i'll be checkin this out this weekend to really make sure

 

The 14" aluminum space saver will NOT fit LS1 brakes . I bought one on eBay as I thought there was only 1 aluminum spare (1LE) . The spare I got that works is from a 98 Z28 . It even fits in the trunk

 

Inflatable? Alum?

JamesC

 

The wheel I got is steel ,size is T135/60R16

 

What about running spacers on the 3rd gen rear with the spoked spare ? If so how thick would they need to be, anybody have any ideas ? I have seen those factory rear spacers something about drum brakes ? I wonder if these would work ?

 

I doubt the thin spacer you are talking about will give you enough of a push outward to clear the brakes. I like the idea of using the 4th gen spare as mentioned above.

Ed

 

Inner plastic panels fit properly with that larger tire in there ? Does it mount in there properly ? Thx

 

Yes everything fits you just can't use the plastic spacer that goes under the original inflatable spare .

 

Never had either of mine out, what is that ? So what does it sit on then ?


There are four on ebay in used condition for 25.00 plus 20 shipping.
I expect the local yards will have one that they will practically give away. These can't be sought after.


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Ed,

So if this 135/60R16 clears LSI brakes it will clear the 89 PBR rear brakes and the front C4 NON HD BRAKES ? Thx

 

The inflateable spare tire when collapsed is shorter than the pre inflated one . If you don't use the spacer the center of the tire won't line up with the hold down bolt . The tire when installed has to be around 26 inches tall . The T135/60r16 is really narrow where the original inflateable is quite wide 5-6" .I don't think the inflatable tire will fit in the hole when inflated as it's too wide to get the panel back on . The narrow tire just sits in the well with nothing underneath it .

 

I'll call my favorite junkyard Monday and let you all know what they go for. I'll be pricing brand new never on the ground types.

Looks like I'll have two brand new never on the ground aluminum spoked spares for sale.

 

OK, this is the post that’s confusing me… previous posts said that the one on the left _WILL NOT_ fit, and then 2 posts later you say that the one that does fit is the 15x5 inflatable one. That directly contradicts what you say here.

FWIW, my ’83 TA came with the 15” minispare, every other 3rd gen that I’ve had came with a posi and the 15x5” rim/inflatable deal, and my ’97 WS6 has a normal 15” mini spare with instructions that say never to use it on the back, that if you have a flat back tire you’re supposed to swap the front onto the back and then use the spare on the front.

 

The place a frequent is always the cheapest, $ 15. I am getting two and that is for brand new never on the ground.
FYI

 

My 1LE car came with a N64 10-spoke aluminum spare, why is that? All 1LE cars must not have came with the rare-black-aluminum 15" spare then, correct?

 

I'll throw in one last time. The 10-spoke spare far preceeded the 1LE option, coming out in 83 or 84 and lasting, perhaps, until 86 or 87 (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Consequently, the spare was designed for iron calipers and 10.5 inch rotors. Luck had it that the spare fit the front 1LE's in later years, but not the rears. The latter, 89-92, which had PBR's, was factory equipped with a 15-inch spare--nothing rare about that. My guess is that somehow or somewhere the 10-spoke you had was substituted into your car.

JamesC

 

i ground the crap out of my calipers and got my 15x8 prostars to fit. should fit the spare

 

How do I know if my spare is steel or aluminum? My car came with the N64 rpo but, since I bought it used, the spare might have been changed. Right now, it has the black 15" inflatable spare. I always though it was steel.

 

Magnet.

JamesC

 

OK. I'm thoroughly confused. The 135 donut from an LS1 car will obviously fit an LS1 rear brake. Will it fit a c5 brake w/a spacer on the front? Also, the inflatable steelie that came with the car, (92 T/A 'vert, 14"), is worthless in all of these scenarios? Correct? Sheesh!

 

Ed, I have a friend who is looking for the N64 that your talking about he has a 1990 camaro iroc-z28 Convertible and he is looking for the spare alumionum wheel with the smaller spare tire (N64) for his but he needs the aluminum wheel and the tire do you have these for sale and if you do how much would they cost?

 

I have a 91 z28 with 16 " stock alloy wheels and stock disc brakes on the front and drums on the rear . Does anyone know if a T125/70-d15 compact spare will fit over the front brakes ? My car did not come with any spare when I purchased it .

 

For future reference....